There's a reason why this journal is entitled "Queer Thinker"...other than the obvious. If you want to read the thoughts of a black, gay law student who seems to think differently, i.e. "queer," than others, this one's for you!

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Ask A Negress Pt. 3

From a variety of sources, including Yahoo search and Topix:

Q: Why is that in movies targeted at blacks with all black casts, the entire movie seems to be about being black? You'd never see a bunch of white guys actually mention being white in conversation. Do black people really talk about being black that much?

A: This is actually not true, on both counts. Sure, "white movies" definitely will not be all about being white, not blatantly anyway. But black movies usually aren't, either, though they will probably refer to being black and realities of black life throughout the movie. However, I am not sure I could sit down and think of too many white TV shows, for example, that last for a couple seasons that don't eventually have some borderline-offensive episode that plays with race and has white people referring to the fact that they're white and white stereotypes. On Lifetime alone (which I watch every afternoon during the week), I've witnessed this in shows such as "The Golden Girls," "Still Standing," "The Nanny" and "Reba." In everyday life, white people can be heard "joking" about or stereotyping stuff like the fact that one of them can't dance or play a "black" sport or doesn't have a big d!ck.I've seen white celebrities do interviews and refer to themselves as white in relation to some stereotype, i.e. Ben McKenzie from the "The OC" insinuating that he wasn't good enough in football in high school because he was white and Felicity Huffman from "Desperate Housewives" on "Oprah" implying that black women are better singers/dancers and have nicer lips than white women while describing her experience as the only white female in a studio. As far as white movies, whites usually won't refer to whiteness like blacks do in black movies. However, they definitely display it and exploit white stereotypes. Whites perform whiteness all the time; they're just not verbally explicit about it like blacks are.Do blacks really talk about being black a lot? YES. I have generally found that a group of black people aren't going to be together for a good amount of time and not talk about race in some way at some point. It's just a huge part of our lives. It's the same for queer people and oftentimes for women, too.

Q: Why are the most dangerous cities in the Us predominately black? Why are the dangerous and bad parts of cities predominately black?

A: I've somewhat touched on this in my posts about anti-racists, as well as a couple other posts here. But to be most simple, 1) blacks are angry, and 2) black men, at least subconsciously, feel a sense of entitlement to everything just like white men do. A white neighborhood is not going to be crime-ridden, because angry black males are simply not going to go to those neighborhoods and commit more than a few crimes over time...and because nobody else is that angry, nor do they have any reason to be. Why won't they commit crimes in white neighborhoods? Because crimes involving white victims are more costly than crimes involving black victims. So, blacks in black neighborhoods often have less than whites in white neighborhoods, but blacks will prey on the blacks anyway because they are much more likely to get away with those crimes or get lighter sentences than for victimizing whites in white neighborhoods.

Many black men will go around breaking into other blacks' homes, stealing/breaking into their cars, etc, and hurting other blacks in the process rather than get a job just because they perceive white males as not earning everything they get...so why should black men have to, especially working crap jobs while the white men get the good jobs with a similar kind of resume or have a better resume simply because, as white men, they were given more opportunities in life? Not saying I agree with these black men or that this is even definitely the case, but this is how I perceive black men who commit crimes as thinking based on comments I've heard many black men make, including ones who aren't criminals. Everything those black guys take or work for, they seem to feel they're automatically owed just because white men don't have to work as hard for those things.

On the site I took this question from, the black responder correctly mentioned the connection between crime and poverty and education. While I agree, it's still also the case that some of those black men could be working but aren't; they live a life of crime. It's also the case that they generally won't go to the better neighborhoods to commit crimes, even though they could potentially walk off with more stuff from those places than they get in poor black neighborhoods. Although you could also make a proximity argument, I believe my response is the reason why.Q: Why is it that Blacks blame a lot of their problems on Whites? Don't they create their own destiny these days?

A: It's not whites, per se, so much as the problems/systems that whites have created throughout history that either have lingering effects and/or are still perpetrated/kept in existence by whites. We generally don't blame specific white people. As long as whites are still predominantly the ones in positions of power, no, blacks don't create their own destinies.

Q: My Q-if you could pass for 2 weeks(or any period of time) is there anywhere you would want to go or do, that you wouldn't do now?Q2 Anything you want to ask of other races?

A: Regarding question 1, probably not.#2, definitely, but when I have questions for other races I generally just ask people of that race. The answers I usually get aren't satisfactory, but I think that's because people don't sit and really think these kinds of things out the way I do. One question that comes to mind, though, that I haven't asked some people yet is how can white people look at people like Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and all the other crazy young white female celebrities, and then talk about only black people having no morals or black women being promiscuous. For people of all other races besides black, I want to know why they have such a hard time accepting that we're all different, race does matter and will always matter.

Q: I am a white female, rasied in white suburbia, California. I think we had two blacks kids I went to school with all the way from 1st to 12 grade. The were nice enough kids and they had nice parents who cared about their kids welfare and education. I was just wondering why weren't there MORE of these families? Why do some black people feel they are OWED something becuase they cam from slaves? My Neighbors didn't feel this way! They worked hard and raised nice kids, who raised more nice kids! The didn;t think they were "Opressed!"

A: I seriously don't think there's a black person alive who believes racism is real but doesn't think they are owed something. It has very little to do with slavery, too; we're talking stuff that goes down TODAY. Just because a black person doesn't complain and/or works hard doesn't mean they don't think blacks are oppressed or not getting what they deserve. It's all about the approach, though, i.e. some blacks believe we're owed more but will go ahead and play by white people's rules, some won't do much of anything to help themselves, some will try to make their own rules, etc. How do you let your mindset affect you, is the question. Do you understand that you can be owed but you're probably not going to get it? How do you respond to this reality? As far as whether or not blacks are oppressed, whites and blacks just define "oppression" differently just like we define "racism" differently.

Q: I understand that the "N-Word" is extremely offensive to black people. I would like to understand why and if black people think that if they took less offense to it, maybe people wouldn't throw it around so much.

A: Clarify by saying "some" black people. For black people who are offended, I think they would point to the historical context in which the word was used towards black people and the fact that it is often still used today with a similar kind of context/meaning to it. If blacks took less offense to it, I think its use would actually increase because whites and others are clearly dying to be able to use that word without blacks getting mad, especially given that so many blacks use it in a way those blacks deem "positive." Many whites, Asians and Latinos find that use cool and really want to imitate it.

Q: Why do blacks vote democrat?

A: The majority of blacks are middle-of-the-road, with many conservative viewpoints. However, time and time again, when Republicans get into office, they make decisions that harm blacks more so than Democrats do. Financial decisions are huge since they affect employment, taxes, etc. Republicans also have a habit of being against programs that benefit blacks, such as affirmative action. Democrats also usually pay lip service to blacks; Republicans often don't, and even when they do we don't believe them or one of them shows up in a racial-slur scandal, i.e. Trent Lott, Arnold Schwarzenegger, even John McCain with the "gooks" thing.

Q: Why do blacks smell?

A: My experience is every race has a scent that is particular to/similar among people of that race, a scent that differs from people of other races...including whites. I'm not kidding, nor am I trying to be offensive. I strongly encourage everyone to use fragrances, because I hate when I am, for example, sitting in a classroom and feeling overwhelmed/unable to concentrate by the natural scent of a white or Asian person. The worst is sharing a communal bathroom with a bunch of white females; the scent is awful. It's the same scent I smell in a classroom when I am sitting by a white person, whether male or female, who doesn't have a nice fragrance on, but 1000 times worse.

I actually can't recall smelling a particular black scent or bad smell among blacks, but this might be because I am black. I will say, however, that I have smelled a scent among some but relatively few blacks that, when I've smelled it, has been the same in every black person I've smelled it in. I have never smelled that same scent in another race. At the time, many blacks have called it "musty." I don't know if this is what whites and others mean when they say blacks stink. I asked one of my white friends if blacks had a scent and informed her that, to me, whites and Asians do. She was unable to answer this question. But that "musty" scent is usually from sweat/not having washed up recently.

I have heard throughout my life blacks say whites smell like wet dogs or bologna. This is not quite what I would say they smell like, off the top of my head (could be wrong--haven't smelled a wet dog in forever), but it supports my idea that we all have a natural scent that is common among people depending on their racial background._________________________________That's edition 3. See ya next time!